The 3:25 a.m. fire in the plant’s paint filtration system on the roof of the plant took more than an hour to get out in part because of its location inside a metal structure, said Mount Holly Fire and Rescue Chief Dale Oplinger.

“It was so hot in there they have to cut a hole in there to ventilate it just so we could get in there,” Oplinger said.

Freightliner workers will investigate the root cause of the fire, said Dave Giroux, a spokesman for Freightliner’s parent company Daimler Trucks North America.

Oplinger estimated the fire caused between $5,000 and $10,000 in property damage, but that does not count lost work time.

Nobody was hurt although one Mount Holly firefighter did suffer a steam burn that did not require medical attention.

About forty firefighters responded to the blaze. Other fire departments assisting included East Gaston, Lucia-Riverbend, Charlotte, Community, New Hope and Gaston Emergency Medical Services.

“It was a substantial fire for Freightliner because they had to shut down their operations,” Oplinger said.